I just wanted to pass this along to anyone who plays fetch with their dogs,big or small.

My little boy's associate has a lab/retriever mixed breed that loves to play fetch. She picked up a good sized stick and threw it for him to retrieve. The stick went up in his mouth and was stuck. They pulled it out as the dog was having trouble breathing and couldn't close his mouth. She told me the stick was about the diameter of a dime/nickel and approx. a foot or so long. They rushed him to the vet but the hole is so far back there he didn't think he could actually do anything to close the hole. Evidently the hole is dime/nickel size and the stick penetrated over an inch deep. They put him on antibiotics and a pain killer. He was touch and go for awhile,but they think he is starting to come around. He does not eat,but has just started to lap up water.

I had seen something like this before on Emergency vets,and do not play with sticks at all--and I think most of our havs prefer squeaky plush toys,but I know some of you might have larger breed dogs or friends/family members you could warn.

Julie, Thanks for the warning. Oh, that poor dog and owner. It would freak me out and I don't know if I could have pulled it out. I don't play fetch with Cicero, but his favorite thing is a stick to chew on. Each time he goes out he will RLH till he finds one and takes off for the den where I have to chase him down to get it. He chews and spits.

Julie, Thanks for the warning. Oh, that poor dog and owner. It would freak me out and I don't know if I could have pulled it out. I don't play fetch with Cicero, but his favorite thing is a stick to chew on. Each time he goes out he will RLH till he finds one and takes off for the den where I have to chase him down to get it. He chews and spits.

Do you think chewing on sticks is a bad thing? That maybe the wood could splinter and get caught in their throats or get swallowed and make them sick? My two love nothing better than chewing on sticks. It's a chore to keep them away from twigs etc., since we live in a wooded area.
Suzy

Suzy, Once I just mentioned that Cicero's favorite thing was a stick to my vet. She said, "Oh, noooo, don't let that boy chew on sticks, you need to take them away and give him something safe." I told her he just chews them up and spits them out making a mess. She told me that she has had to do surgery on several dogs because the stick splinters and they swallow a few pieces and it punctures their intestines or other parts. She told me to play fetch with toys or ropes but never sticks and to teach him to 'leave it'. I can tell you that Cicero makes sure I get my cardio workout because he "Loves" to chew on sticks.

I have thrown sticks in the past, but I throw them too far for Gucci to catch, she usually ends up trying to 'find' them, but I recently bought a lot of balls with the nylon straps and have been playing fetch with those instead for the last few months.

Here's another stick story I just got from a friend who has a lab (Lily).

I thought sticks and dogs went together like peanut butter and jelly. Well, not so.

Lily was playing fetch with a stick and while running the stick hit the ground, impaled her groin and threw her in the air like a pole vaulter. Needless to say I had my first emergency experience with a dog. Luckily, my local vet is at a full animal hospital. I had to get the vet to come in (Fri night) who then called an assistant and Lily had emergency surgery which took a few hours.

I'll spare all the gory details but the vet told me she stopped counting after the first 50 stitches. I did ask to see her when she was under and get a good look at the wreckage which she did let me do and couldn't believe the damage a stick could do.

I never would have thought about this -- our Goldens always loved carrying sticks everywhere.

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